


High as Hope

by A_Little_Bit_of_Everything



Series: Album Fics [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Album Fics, Alternate Universe - Office, Angst, But only a little, Deaf Character, Deaf Matt Bragg, Don't Climb on Roofs Kids, F/F, F/M, Fake AH Crew, Falling Out of Trees, Fluff, Implied Murder, Implied Sexual Content, Jack is a sweetheart, Lindsay Officiates the Wedding, M/M, Miscarriage, Nightmares, Polyamory, Reconciliation, Ryan is a Nervous Dork, Sharing a Bed, Street Racing, Teenagers, Trans Female Character, Trans Female Jack, Trans Male Character, Trans Male Gavin, Weddings, parents fighting, police chases, referenced transphobia, seriously so fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2020-01-23 16:39:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 4,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18553660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Little_Bit_of_Everything/pseuds/A_Little_Bit_of_Everything
Summary: This going to be the first in a series of stories, each book will be a different album and each chapter will be a different song. The chapter will be totally disconnected stories so they can be read in any order.First album on the list is Florence and The Machine's album High as Hope!Any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated.





	1. June

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skyscrapers look on like great, unblinking giants   
> In those heavy days in June  
> When love became an act of defiance

 When Geoff and Jack started dating he was more than a little terrified of what people would think. No one could really blame him though, He hadn't met anyone like her and Alabama wasn’t exactly welcoming to trans people.

And maybe at one time Geoff would have been that way too, but then he had met Jack. Jack was the sweetest girl Geoff had ever met, she had blown into town almost a year ago with nothing but a motorcycle and a backpack full of clothes.

However, Geoff quickly realized he didn't really care what anyone thought, he loved Jack and that's all that really mattered.

She had asked Geoff to go into the city with her and he had jumped. So he got up early and drove out to the little motel where Jack was staying to pick her up. He was greeted by Jack in a crop top and highwaisted shorts.

“Hey Geoff! You ready to go?” She asked with a grin.

“Um, yeah, I’m ready if you are.”

Jack nodded, grabbing her purse, “I’m ready.”

The drive into the city was relatively quiet. Which was fine with Geoff, he just enjoyed Jack's quiet company. Once they got into the city and had parked the car, Geoff took Jack's hand in his, “So, where do you want to go first?”

“I need some new shoes, so how about we start there?” She asked.

“Sounds good to me, did your boots finally give out on you?”

She nodded as they walked, “I wore right through the sole.”

As they walked Geoff was vaguely aware of people staring, but he didn’t pay attention to it, kept all his focus on Jack as she talked about the weather and how she liked it here.

“The last place I stayed this long was Vermont and it was cold all the time, Texas ruined my for weather, I’ll never quite get used to the the cold.”

“Do you ever think about going back? To Texas I mean?”

Jack shrugged, “Eventually I will, I have a pretty good reason not to go back get though.”

“Awwww, are you talking about little old me?” Geoff asked with a grin.

Jack laughed and softly knocked Geoff’s shoulder with her’s.

As they walked hand in hand, Geoff thought he could listen to her laugh like that forever. It would never matter what anyone thought of them. All either of them cared about was being together.


	2. Hunger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't let it get you down, you're the best thing I've seen  
> We never found the answer but we knew one thing  
> We all have a hunger

 

Gavin glanced into the rearview mirror, seeing the police lights flashing. He pressed harder on the gas pedal, glancing over at Matt in the passenger seat. Gavin smirked, “You might want to hold on.” He didn’t give Matt much time to react to his words before he was spinning the wheel. The car whipped around the corner, several other cars honking at them. 

 

“Holy shit Gav, are you trying to kill me? Or are you just determined to get arrested?” Matt said exasperatedly. 

 

Gavin laughed, skillfully weaving through traffic, “Well you said you wanted to do something exciting.” 

 

Matt rolled his eyes, gripping the arm rest so hard that his knuckles were white. I thought you would take that as going out for a movie or something, not street racing and police chases!” 

 

Despite his complaints Matt was smiling. He had to admit, it was a rush to be in the passenger seat while Gavin raced. It would have been better if the cops hadn’t showed up in the middle of the race, Matt didn’t really consider going to jail as a good date. 

 

“Don’t worry, the cops haven’t caught me yet, I don’t plan on letting them now.” 

 

“You cocky prick, if you’re so good at not getting caught why are they still chasing us?” 

 

“I was showing off for you love,” Gavin smirked, flipping the car down the next street and into an ally, several police cars driving passed them. 

 

Matt looked at Gavin with wide eyes, letting out a breathless laugh, “One day you’re going to have to take me on a real date.” 

 

“You seem to enjoy these dates just fine,” Gavin said as he climbed across the center console and settled straddling Matt’s lap.

 

“Well...yeah,” Matt said, sliding his hands under Gavin’s shirt, “but I’d like it better if it ended with us fucking somewhere that isn’t your backseat.” 

 

“So you want to stay in the front seat?” 

“Fuck you.” 

 

“Well that is the plan love.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gonna dedicate this to the #1 Matt Bragg lover. Ro, this one's for you.


	3. South London Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And we're just children wanting children of our own  
> I want a space to watch things grow  
> But did I dream too big?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to put a Content Warning at the beginning of this chapter. This deals with miscarriages, so if that isn't something you are comfortable with feel free to skip this chapter.

Michael stood outside the nursery, he could here crying coming from inside, he took a deep breath and gently knocked on the door. “Alfredo? Can I come in?”

 

It was quiet for several minutes before a soft “Yeah” could be heard. Michael opened the door, finding Alfredo sitting on the floor next to the half put together crib. He didn’t say anything as he sat down next to his husband. 

 

“How did this happen?” Alfredo asked quietly, laying his head on Michael’s shoulder.

 

“There isn’t always a clear reason, the doctor said that the accident probably put too much stress on her and the baby.” Michael said, placing his hand on Alfredo’s knee. 

 

They had gotten the call from their surrogate this afternoon, she had been in a car accident.  She had been just over four months along and Michael and Alfredo were over the moon about being parents. 

 

Getting the news that she had lost the baby had completely blindsided them. 

 

“Everything was going so well, then this happened...” Alfredo’s voice trailed off into a sob.

 

Michael pulled him closer and let a few tears of his own fall. 

 

They stayed like that for awhile, letting time become meaningless as they tried to process what had happened. It felt like the world stopped existing and the only thing that remained was Michael and Alfredo, crying in a nursery that was supposed to be for their baby.  


	4. Big God

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The places that I go  
> I still like you the most  
> You’ll always be my favorite ghost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 12-17-19 due to the Trevor Collins' abuse of his ex that just came to light I will no longer include him in any of my writing

“Didn’t think I’d ever see you in here again.” 

 

“Yeah, I just came to say goodbye,” Trevor said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. He instantly regretted coming here when he saw Matt standing behind the bar. 

 

Matt wasn’t that different from the last time Trevor had seen him. The only major indication that he was any different was the break in his voice and him signing as he spoke.

 

“Oh so now you care about saying goodbye? That’s pretty far off from you walking out when I needed you.” Matt’s words were filled with venom, but there was hurt underneath them. 

 

The couple people sitting at the bar looked between the two worriedly.

 

“Do you want me to get him out of here?” One of them asked after getting Matt’s attention, looking Trevor up and down critically.

 

“No, he’s...he’s fine.” Matt said, letting out a huff of breath. “What do you want Trevor?” 

 

“I’m leaving town, I wanted to come talk about what happened.”

 

“Oh, I get it, you’re leaving so you thought you'd just, what? Drop in so I could clear your conscience?”  

 

“What? No I just-” Trevor didn’t get the chance to finish as Matt cut him off.

 

“You know what, fuck you. You had three years to do this, but you decided to run away when things got difficult, you didn’t even care enough about me to admit you wanted out, so I don’t want to hear it.” 

 

“I did care about you, I always have, I just...I couldn’t handle it.” Trevor said defensively

 

Matt gave a humorless chuckle, “You couldn’t handle it? I had a tumor and was losing my hearing, but  _ you _ couldn’t handle it? That’s fucking rich.”

 

Trevor opened his mouth to defend himself, but he couldn’t. It sounded so much more selfish than it had in his head. Really, what had he expected? That Matt would be happy to see him after he ran out without a word three years ago because he couldn’t deal with his boyfriend having a life altering medical issue? 

 

Trevor didn’t blame Matt for being angry, Trevor was an asshole and was somehow just coming to the conclusion that he had fucked up.

 

“I’m-I’ll go, let you get on with your life, I’m sorry, for everything, I did, I  _ do _ care about you,” Trevor said as he turned to leave. 

 

“I cared about you too, I wish that was still enough.” Matt said as Trevor was leaving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's projecting because their hearing is getting bad again and they got dumped because of it?


	5. Sky Full of Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I can feel your anger  
> From way across the sea  
> I was kissing strangers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 12-17-19 due to the Trevor Collins' abuse of his ex that just came to light I will no longer include him in any of my writing

The bass thumping through the club was dangerously close to being uncomfortable. 

But that was what Fiona liked about it. It made her heart race with excitement, the fact that she was on the job certainly added to her excitement.

It was when she got to the bar to get another drink that she noticed a woman standing at the end of the bar. 

The woman was beautiful, she had long brown hair and glasses. Fiona didn’t bother hesitating as she got her drink and went toward her. 

“What the hell are you doing Nova?” Trevor barked at her through her earpiece.

“Blending in,” she replied easily. She reached the woman and smiled, “Hi there.”

“Oh, hey,” she replied, before looking back at the bar and sighing.

“Can’t get the bartender’s attention?” 

“Yeah, I’ve been trying for the last ten minutes.”

“Here let me,” Fiona pressed her fingers to her lips and whistled, causing the bartender to come over, “can you get this lovely lady a drink, and maybe start serving the  _ whole _ bar and not just one side of it.” 

“ _ Nova _ if you keep this up we’re gonna lose our chance at the target.” Fiona ignored Trevor and continued to stare down the bartender. 

He quickly started taking drink orders, Fiona’s companion getting hers first. 

“Wow, where’d you learn to do that?” 

Fiona shrugged with a smirk, “I’m from New York, comes with the territory.” 

“Well thank you, I’m Sarah.” She said with a soft smile.

“I’m Fiona.” 

Fiona spent the next hour with Sarah. They clicked almost instantly, laughing and flirting lightly.

“The target is going to be gone soon, Nova stop flirting and get over there,” It was Ryan whose voice came over the earpiece.

Fiona didn’t want to blow her shot with Sarah, but she also had a job to do. She glanced around and formulated a plan. “Do you wanna get out of here?”

Sarah nodded after a moment of contemplating. 

“Alright, I’ll go pay the tab, meet me by the front?” Fiona asked, already pulling her wallet out.

“Are you sure? I can pay for my own drinks.” Sarah said, one of her eyebrows arched upward ever so slightly.

“Don't worry about it, I’ve got you.” 

Sarah stared at Fiona for a moment before nodding, “Alright, but I’ll make sure to pay you back later.” 

When Fiona made it to the bar she leaned in close to the bartender, “I’d like to buy a drink to be sent to that gentleman,” she gestured to the target “and I need this put in it.” She slipped a small vial to the man along with a wad of bills. 

“Of course ma’am.” He said taking the items from her.

The drink was quickly made and sent, Fiona watching to make sure it reached its destination before turning to make her way to the exit. 

Just as she got to Sarah yelling could be heard from the back of the club. 

“He’s down everyone out now before the cops show up!” Trevor said, sounding marginally less stressed than he did at the beginning of the night.

Fiona grabbed Sarah’s hand and led the way outside. 

“My place or yours?” Fiona asked.

“What makes you think I meant I was going to go home with you? Maybe I wanted to go get coffee, or file taxes with you?” Sarah teased.

Fiona laughed before using her grip on Sarah’s hand to pull her closer and press their lips together. 

Sarah was quick to kiss back, fighting for dominance. 

It was only a few seconds before they pulled apart and Sarah let out a soft chuckle, “Alright I think you made a good point, my place is a couple blocks away.”


	6. Grace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You were the one I treated the worst  
> Only because you loved me the most  
> We haven't spoken in a long time

Michael sat at the table in the coffeeshop fidgeting with the sleeves of his sweater. He didn’t know why Gavin had called him here or why he had agreed to the meeting. The two hadn’t spoken since highschool and for good reason.

 

The bell above the door went off and Michael’s gaze shot up to the man standing at the entrance. He looked different than the boy Michael had known, but it was still very clearly Gavin. He still had the same lanky frame that was all limbs, his hair was shorter though. It almost made Michael smile, but it was overshadowed by the sudden anger and hurt that was bubbling back to the surface after so many years.

 

When Gavin caught sight of him his eyes widened for a moment, like he hadn’t expected Michael to actually show up. He stayed frozen in place for a moment before walking over to sit in the chair across from Michael.

 

“Hey.” Gavin said hesitantly.

 

“Fuck if that’s all you wanted to say then you should have told me not to waste my time coming.” Michael shot back not making eye contact.

 

Gavin chuckled softly and ran his fingers through his mess of hair, “I see you haven’t changed at all.” 

 

Michael furrowed his eyebrows “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” 

 

“You’re still pretending to be all tough and angry.” 

 

“Trust me it’s not pretend, and besides, last time I checked  _ I  _ wasn’t the one pretending to be anything.” 

 

Gavin winced like Michael had just slapped him before letting out a sigh, “Alright I deserved that, I was a right prick the last time we saw each other.” 

 

“To say the least,” Michael replied with a scoff. 

 

“Look that’s why I called and asked you to meet me here, I wanted to apologize.”

 

That caught Michael off guard slightly and he finally met Gavin’s eyes. 

 

“I was an idiot and treated you terribly, you were my best friend and were only trying to help me,” Gavin paused for a moment to find his words before continuing, “I didn’t want to own up to who I was, I guess, I guess I wasn’t ready for people to know, but that’s changed now, I’ve got some friends who know, and Dan, I actually told Dan before my parents.” 

 

Michael’s scowl had slowly softened as Gavin spoke, he idly thought he had never seen Gavin this... _ confident _ . 

 

"That's, that's great dude, I'm glad you're doing good, you're...different from when we last talked, you seem happier."

 

Gavin smiled and looked down at the tabletop, "I am, it's so nice not having to hide. Everyone wanting me to be Gabby got so exhausting, I just wish that hadn't caused me to be so awful to you."

 

"I was mad and hurt for a long time, but you called me after three years just to apologize, that's all the proof I need that you're in a better place. You were never a bad person, you just had a lot of problems." Michael said honestly. 

 

"Does that mean you'd want to be friends again?" 

 

"Yeah boi, that would be great."


	7. Patricia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And are you afraid?   
> 'Cause I'm terrified  
> But you remind me that it's such a wonderful thing to love

Ryan fidgeted with his hands as he stood at the end of the aisle. 

 

"Relax dude, you're gonna pass out before you get the chance to get married," Geoff said as he placed a comforting hand on Ryan's shoulder. 

 

Ryan nodded and took a shakily deep breath, "I know, it's just, what if something goes wrong we worked so hard on this and it needs to be perfect."

 

"And it will, just take it easy." 

 

Ryan didn't have more time to panic as music started and everyone stood up. He stared down the aisle as Jeremy appeared, dressed in a perfectly fitting suit. He looked like a dream to Ryan. 

 

When he reached the altar Ryan realized that Jeremy's hands were shaking slightly. 

 

"Are you nervous?" Ryan asked quietly, a smile beginning to stretch across his face.

 

Jeremy smiled back at him, "A little, you?"

 

"Terrified."

 

"I don't think that's an appropriate word to use when you're getting married, makes it sound like I kidnapped you," Jeremy said with a quiet laugh that Ryan returned.

 

Lindsay cleared her throat and smiled at them, “You two ready?” 

 

They both nodded and she began to speak, “We’re gathered here today to celebrate the marriage of my close friends Ryan Haywood and Jeremy Dooley, they wrote their own vows because they didn’t trust me to run the entire ceremony,” she paused as the crowd broke out into soft laughter, “So I’ll ask them to read those now, Jeremy, go for it buddy.”

 

Jeremy cleared his throat and took Ryan’s hand, “Ryan, everyone always talks about love at first sight, that wasn’t for us though. I didn’t fall in love with you instantly, but I knew the first time I saw you I would love you, the first time you looked at me I knew, it was always going to be you. And it always has been. You are everything I could ever ask for. There is no one I would ever want to spend the rest of my life with more than you, I consider myself endlessly lucky to get to be with you.” 

 

Ryan had to wipe tears from his eyes as Jeremy finished. He stayed quiet for a moment and took several deep breaths.

 

His voice shook slightly as he began to speak, "Jer, I love you so much that I can't even begin to express it with words. You've carried me through so many things, I swear I'll spend the rest of our lives repaying you for it. I'm so amazingly lucky to get to love you." 

 

It was Jeremy's turn to get teary eyed as Ryan finished. 

 

Lindsay smiled softly at both of them, "Alright, the couple will now exchange rings." 

 

After rings were exchanged Linsday spoke again, "It is my great honor to pronounce you both husband and husband," she paused for a moment as Ryan and Jeremy smiled at each other, "this is the part where you two kiss." 

 

Both men giggled before Jeremy pulled Ryan down into a kiss. 


	8. 100 Years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I let him sleep, and as he does  
> My held breath fills the room with love  
> It hurts in ways I can't describe

The room was dark as Jack slowly awoke. He blinked several times before turning to squint at the alarm clock on his nightstand. 

 

**3:45 AM**

 

Why the hell was he awake at three in the morning? Jack received the answer when he felt another body shift against him. 

 

Rolling onto his other side he was slightly surprised to see Alfredo laying there fast asleep.

 

He had expected Gavin or maybe Geoff but Alfredo was definitely a new one.

 

For a moment, Jack considered waking him up to question why he was there, but after Alfredo let out a soft sigh and curled closer to Jack he decided to let him sleep.

 

The only sound in the room was their quiet breathing as Jack tried and failed to go back to sleep.

 

Jack wasn’t sure how long he just laid there but he was pulled out of his head by a  quiet whimper that came from Alfredo. At first he wasn’t sure he had heard it, the silence suddenly a heavy weight blanketing the room as Jack waited and listened carefully. 

 

Another whimper tore into the empty space, his one Jack definitely heard this one. He gently placed a hand on Alfredo’s shoulder, which had tensed like a rubber band about to snap. 

 

“Fredo?” Jack shook his shoulder trying to wake him.

 

Alfredo’s eyebrows knit themselves into a worried line but he didn’t wake up. 

 

Jack shook Alfredo’s shoulders again, continuing to whisper, “Come on buddy wake up.”

 

It took several more moments of gentle coaxing before Alfredo finally awoke with a gasp. 

 

“Hey there you go, you’re okay.” Jack said reaching up to run his fingers through Alfredo’s mess of raven hair. 

 

“Jack, did I,” Alfredo paused to clear his throat, “did I wake you up? I didn’t mean to.”

 

Alfredo looked surprisingly small as he spoke and it made Jack’s chest ache in a way he couldn’t describe. “It’s alright, I was already awake, when did you come in?” 

 

Even in the dark Jack could see Alfredo’s cheeks break out in a soft blush, “Around 11, I just, I know the others sleep in here sometimes so I didn’t think you’d mind, but I can leave if you want.”

 

Jack found himself wrapping an around Alfredo’s waist to keep him in place. “I don’t mind, you’re a better bed-mate than Geoff, he practically shoves me out of the bed.” 

That seemed to break the tension as Alfredo let out a soft chuckle that was interrupted by a yawn. 

 

“Are you okay to go back to sleep or do you wanna talk about the dream you were having?” 

 

“I’m alright to go back to sleep, thank you Jack.”

 

Jack smiled and pulled Alfredo closer to his chest, “Anytime you need to you’re welcome to sleep in here.”


	9. The End of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And was it so far to fall?  
> You said it didn't hurt at all  
> And let it wash away

Lindsay sat on her roof, she could hear her parents fighting in the house. This was supposed to be the place she came to escape their fighting but even that had been taken from her lately. Her parents yelled louder and she wrapped her arms around her knees, staring up at the night sky. She made a vague mental note that she was cold. 

 

There was a sudden amount of rustling leaves followed by several curses and a very familiar squawking that made Lindsay smile softly.

 

She turned to see Michael and Gavin using the oak tree in her backyard to climb onto the roof. 

 

“You’ve gotta find a new hang out, I’m getting too old for all this climbing,” Michael said, but he was smiling as he sat down next to her, Gavin taking the place on her other side. 

 

“Michael you aren’t old you’re 17.” Gavin pointed out.

 

“Are you kinda I might as well be in a nursing home!”

 

Lindsay giggled but it quickly died out as a particularly loud shout came from inside. She laid her head on Gavin’s shoulder as Michael wrapped his arms around her.

 

“Do you wanna talk about it love?” Gavin asked softly.

 

She shrugged slightly, “It’s the same stuff as always, except now they're adding on that I don't focus on my grades because I'm too focused on 'those boys from school' as they call you."

 

"Damn, I know they know our names, we've been over for dinner." Michael snarked.

 

"They must be having a laugh, you have great grades! You're the only reason I'm passing history!" Gavin exclaimed sounding genuinely appalled.

 

"He's right, you're doing great. Your parents are fucking stupid if they can't see that." Michael added, pressing a kiss to Lindsay's shoulder.

 

“I know, they just want something to be mad about, I wish I could just get out of here for a while.” 

 

“Stay at mine tonight, my parents are out of town so we can have a movie night,” Gavin suggested.

 

Lindsay let a smile cross her lips as she nodded, “Okay, is Michael invited too?” 

 

“Hmmm, I don’t know…” Gavin said, a barely contained laugh threatening to bubble out of his chest.

 

“Fuck you guys, who says I wanna hang out with you losers anyway.” Michael said with a laugh. 

 

Another loud yell was heard from below them and Lindsay moved to stand up, “Come on, let's go.”

 

Michael climbed down off the roof first and Lindsay started to follow, but found the cold had made it harder for her to grip the tree branches. Before she realized what was happening she had slipped and was barely gripping onto a branch. 

 

“Shit, Lindsay! Can you pull yourself up?” Michael called from the ground.

 

Gavin started to climb onto the branches toward her quickly, “Hang on Lindsay I’ll help you up!”

 

Lindsay couldn’t do either of those things, her fingers were already starting to slip and as she glanced down at the ground fear gripped her heart. Looking down again she wondered if it was actually that far to fall. 

 

She didn’t get to think too much about it as her grip loosened against her will and she was falling. She heard Michael and Gavin yell her name at the same time. 

 

She had expected to hit the ground, but instead she hit something softer and it shocked her to realize that it was Michael that she had fallen on. 

 

“Y-you caught me.” It came out rather breathless as Lindsay rolled off of Michael to sit on the ground. 

 

“Well I couldn’t just let you hit the ground.”

 

Gavin made it to the ground seconds later running over to Lindsay and Michael. 

 

“Are you two okay?” he asked looking them both over. 

 

He received two nods in response accompanied by a manic laugh from Lindsay. 

 

“Let’s get to your place before anymore near death experiences decide to happen,” Lindsay said as she stood. 

 

Michael winced as he stood up.

 

Lindsay furrowed her eyebrows, “Did I hurt you?”

 

Michael shook his head and smiled, throwing an arm around her shoulders, “Nah, it didn’t hurt at all, you’re very soft.”

 

Lindsay laughed and entwined her fingers with Gavin’s as the three began walking toward his house.


	10. No Choir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But the loneliness never left me  
> I always took it with me  
> But I can put it down in the pleasure of your company

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 12-17-19 due to the Trevor Collins' abuse of his ex that just came to light I will no longer include him in any of my writing

 

It wasn't that Matt was a lonely person. He just sometimes felt like there was a barrier between him and other people. Like they could never quite connect completely. Okay so maybe he was lonely. But he had learned to carry it well.

 

He kept to himself mostly, didn’t invite friends over or go out with them. Didn’t really date anyone either. It was easy to become the person no one really tried to know. Until, of course, it wasn’t. 

 

He didn’t notice it at first, the office was always so hectic that he didn’t really have time to think about any of his coworkers.

But he did notice eventually, he noticed and it with a sudden shock like being dunked in ice water.

 

He noticed the way Gavin seemed to orbit around him, always talking or asking questions or poking fun at Matt’s (admittedly questionable) diet. 

 

He noticed Jack’s gentle affirmation, always telling him what a good job he was doing or a comment on how nice he was dressed. (Even if they wore the same uniform every day it still made Matt's insides warm.)

 

He noticed the consistent almost never ending patience Ryan possessed. Ryan was patient with everyone but he always seemed to have a little extra for Matt. Spending more time explaining what went into fixing technical issues or how to deal with problems in the future.

 

He noticed Lindsay leaving little sticky note messages for him, sometimes they were just little doodles of cats or little stick figures, other times they were jokes or messages that probably weren’t work appropriate  but they made Matt smile. (he kept them all in a box at his desk but he would never tell anyone else that)

 

He noticed the gentle brush of Geoff’s fingers against him. Every chance Geoff got to ruffle Matt’s hair or rest his hand on Matt’s shoulder he took. Sometimes when Geoff would hand Matt files it felt like he would purposefully brushing their fingers together, but Matt was probably imagining that.

 

He noticed Alfredo coaching him through things. Whether it was a particularly hard work week or their management mandated team building days. Alfredo was always there, and even when Matt failed Alfredo would just smile and pat him on the back with an optimistic “You’ll get it next time.”

 

Michael was an odd one, he kinda scared Matt if he were being completely honest, he was loud and angry, it felt like he instantly hated everyone. But that was all just the surface, underneath it he was really quite caring. He loved his friends more than anything and was usually the first to help if he saw you needed it. You just had to know what to look for. 

 

Trevor was a fucking freak. But it was in the best possible way. It was easy for Matt to forget that Trevor was qualified to be a rocket scientist. But then he would go on a two day long rant about the atmosphere of saturn or some shit and that would remind everyone that Trevor was  _ smart _ . But that didn’t mean he was too smart to join in on the office’s crazy schemes. Matt still remembered the day that Trevor had walked in on him stacking a piece of pizza between two cookies and covering the whole thing in frosting, for a second Matt thought he was about to be on the receiving end of a rant about healthy eating. But instead Trevor sat down and asked to try Matt’s concoction.

 

Jeremy and Matt had clicked instantly. Matt’s first day of work had ended with him and Jeremy talking for an hour in the parking garage about ghosts. (Matt believed in them, Jeremy didn’t.) Jeremy was really the one to pull Matt out of his shell. He was always inviting Matt out with them and encouraging conversation. It was nice, Jeremy was nice. He was so easy to like that it almost infuriated Matt. 

 

But most importantly Matt noticed through all of this was that he wasn’t lonely anymore.

 

He walked into the office at 6 AM just like he did every day and sat down at his cubicle which was sandwiched between Michael and Jeremy. He was greeted by a loud cheer from the cubicle behind his. 

 

“Matt! I’m so glad you’re here!” Gavin exclaimed, rolling his chair forward so he was sat next to Matt, “I need someone on my side in this argument.”

 

“That’s pretty bold of you to assume that I’ll be on your side.” Matt dead panned, earning himself several indignant squawks from Gavin and a laugh from Michael.

 

Matt thought absently that he could get used to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read this series! The next album is coming soon!


End file.
